E03 is where the charm's at, and I'm not evee talking about the romance, I'm talking about the moral lesson and the beautiful way the writer has woven it.
You see, E01 and E02 made it appear that it's all about the supernatural. That human beings are subject to forces we barely understand. However, in E03, the message was clear: the supernatural is there to support us so we wouldn't completely crash down, it is up to us to learn to stand on our own.
This is true. In the Filipino culture we have a proverb that goes something like this in English, "Mercy is from G-d but action is for the mortals". Meaning, G-d is merciful to mortals but at the end of the day, it is for mortals to take action to achieve changes and their goals in life.
Here's an example situation:
Two students prayed that they pass the most important exams of their life.
- Student A is a genius. A prayed but did not study. A is even the son of a highly respected and well-known pastor who do miracles.
- Student B is your regular student. Far from being a genius but not a fool. B prayed earnestly as her classmate A, but B also studied as if it is her last chance and a matter of life and death.
The exam results arrived and A failed. However, B was in the Top 5 in the entire country.
G-d was merciful to both A and B. G-d granted them the focus, intelligence, mental prowess, and stamina to ensure they'll survive on exam day. However, A did not study and the questions were not the usual questions. While B burned lamps and so she was ready for any questions.
In E03, it was exactly what the writer wants to tell the audience. No matter what our belief is, our religion, our faith, it can only do so much if we ourselves are sabotaging it.
The FL did everything, even to become a human amulet, and practically became a stalker. But it didn't do much to the suicide spirit lingering around the ML. What pushed away the suicide spirit was the ML rediscovering the joy of living.
The FL realised it later, so she changed her approach. Instead of relying on her being a human amulet, she learned that the most powerful way to shoo away the suicide spirit is, well, ourselves. She guided the ML to that conclusion and she let the ML do the rest.
And that brings us to the final point, we cannot force people to change or see the joy of life. A person who is depressed has a reason (or reasons) why they are depressed. Identifying and addressing those reasons is the best way to help a depressed person, never ever tell them, "You are so selfish!" Or "Think about the people you will leave behind!" Or, "It is sin! You will go to hell!"
- Identify the reasons.
- Address the reasons.
- Guide them to the solution.
- And let them arrive to it and do the rest.
Exactly what the FL learnt and did. Exactly how the ML rediscovered the joy of being alive.
